Chapter 46: Massacre (Please collect! Please vote! Please invest!)

After Chen Yannian left, Ye Mingsheng and Liu Shilin were the only two people left in the tent again. Ye Mingsheng seemed to have thought of something, and he squinted his eyes and picked up the letter that Jiang Shouye had written to him.

Ye Mingsheng was sure that Jiang Shouye was deceiving him, but after receiving the news of reinforcements, he had other ideas in his mind after reading this letter...
Liu Shilin is also a smart man. Seeing Ye Mingsheng's actions, he also understood what he was thinking. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Ye, I think we should be more cautious at this time and not take risks!"

After hearing Liu Shilin's suggestion, Ye Mingsheng nodded after a moment of silence. Seeing this, Liu Shilin, relieved, bowed and said goodbye and left.

Ye Mingsheng sat there alone and couldn't help but start thinking again. After thinking over and over again, he shook his head, sighed, and completely gave up the idea in his mind.

Liu Shilin was right. Now that reinforcements were in sight, he was about to completely win this gamble and become successful. There was really no need for him to take the risk at this critical juncture.

Now, including Liu Shilin's men, the total combat strength on his side would not exceed two thousand people. Even if Jiang Shouye's three thousand soldiers prepared for the Japanese invasion were not counted, the palace army assembled outside the city was around four to five thousand people. As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands. With the disadvantage in manpower, nothing good would happen to him.

Moreover, although Jiang Shouye, who wrote the letter to me, may have discovered the arrival of my reinforcements and realized the danger, so he chose to surrender, but this is just a possibility after all. I have no way to confirm what he is thinking.

If what I thought was correct and he really pretended to surrender, and I rashly went out of the city to fight him out of greed for merit and lost Liujing, then I would be guilty of a crime that could never be redeemed even by death.

The best plan for now is to remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances, defend Liujing, and not give the enemy the slightest chance at this last moment. Only in this way can one remain invincible, not afraid of any conspiracy or trickery.

···············
···············
Two days later, on the Caijia Plain south of Liujing City, the palace soldiers who were besieging Liujing and the cavalry who came to support them encountered Yuan Hui's troops. The two armies deployed their battle formations and prepared for battle.

Since they discovered that Xiang Yuanhui's troops had appeared in Pingchengzi, the morale of thousands of palace soldiers, who had just unified their command and had not yet had time to launch a large-scale siege, suddenly became unsettled. At this time, something unexpected happened. Jiang Shouye, who had always prided himself on being a loyal minister of the royal family, actually turned against his allies and surrendered to Xiang Yuanhui.

Jiang Shouye's rebellion was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, and it put the Gongdu army that besieged Liujing into a desperate situation. The people of Gongdu had no choice but to curse Jiang Shouye for his despicable behavior while hastily heading south.

The Gongdu army was undoubtedly serious about escaping. In just two days, they ran a full hundred miles, which was a very fast marching speed.

But unfortunately, those with two legs can never outrun those with three legs, and they were soon chased to this plain by Xiang Yuanhui's 3,000 cavalrymen.

Although it was noon, the sun was mostly blocked by the thick clouds in the sky, and a light breeze was blowing over the flat wilderness.

Three thousand Zhou cavalrymen and five thousand palace soldiers formed an east-west battle array. Although the battle had not yet begun, it seemed that everyone already understood what the outcome of this battle would be...

Looking at the poorly equipped and demoralized soldiers of the Imperial Guard not far away, Xiang Yuanhui, one of the most powerful generals in the Imperial Guard, smiled with contempt. The next second, without any hesitation, he drew out his sword and swung it towards the Imperial Guards, roaring angrily. "Kill!"

With this roar, Xiang Yuanhui, wearing heavy armor, took the lead and rushed towards the palace army formation. Behind him, the three thousand elite cavalry of the Great Zhou were unwilling to fall behind, and closely followed the pace of their commander and launched a charge.

The collective charge of three thousand Zhou cavalry made the soldiers in the opposite palace feel as if a strong wind was blowing towards them, and even the ground beneath their feet seemed to be shaking.

Seeing that the Zhou army was about to charge into their own formation, the general Gong suddenly woke up from his dream and loudly urged the archers to go out and shoot arrows and the spearmen to set up the spear formation.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Hundreds of arrows were shot out from the palace army formation at the charging Zhou cavalry. Although there were many arrows, because the Zhou soldiers were generally wearing armor, only dozens of lives were lost. The Zhou cavalry, as fierce as wolves and tigers, killed their way into the palace army formation.

Although the Gongdu Army also arranged three rows of spears in front of the formation, they were unable to stop the charge of thousands of Zhou cavalry. As soon as the two sides came into contact, the Gongdu Army formation, which seemed quite solid, was torn into several pieces.

In a flash, the weapons of both sides were swung continuously. The Great Zhou cavalry rushed into the enemy's formation, constantly waving their bloodthirsty swords, reaping the lives of the soldiers in the palace. For a while, the screams of the soldiers in the palace and the heavy collision of armor were endless, echoing throughout the entire plain.

The five thousand soldiers in the palace only held out for a cup of tea before they could no longer withstand the slaughter of the Zhou cavalry. No matter how their generals shouted and commanded, they still collapsed like a dam bursting. At this time, the balance of victory had inevitably tilted towards the direction of the Great Zhou.

Xiang Yuanhui, who had killed four or five enemy soldiers in a row, watched the enemy flee and gave a loud order with a fierce smile:
"My men, don't let a single Gongdu dog go. Today is the day to accomplish your mission!"

"Kill!"

As Xiang Yuanhui's military order was issued, the morale of the Zhou cavalry, which had an absolute advantage on the battlefield, became even higher. They increased the pace of killing, making this war look more like a hunting game.

An hour later, the setting sun was as red as blood. There was no longer any palace soldier standing on the battlefield. Countless falcons were circling in the sky, swooping down from time to time, pecking at the fresh corpses on the battlefield.

Under the pursuit of the Great Zhou cavalry, except for a few hundred lucky ones who ran into the deep mountains and forests and escaped the disaster, the rest of the five thousand palace soldiers were all killed tragically under the swords and hooves of the Great Zhou cavalry.

Looking at the corpses strewn all over the ground before him, Xiang Yuanhui nodded with satisfaction, wiped the blood off his saber, waved the whip in his hand, turned his horses around with his subordinates, and galloped towards Liu Jing triumphantly.

(I wish you all a happy Lantern Festival! I wish you all good health, all the best, and a prosperous new year! Prosperity! Prosperity!)
(End of this chapter)